Wine Review: Aging Zinfandel

Can Zinfandel age? I’m going to compare a 10 year old Zin to younger Zins to find out. 

Although I’ve already written about Zinfandel as California’s heritage wines, I felt that the wines I reviewed for that post could all age at least 10+ years from the vintage date. Those wines ranged from 3-7 years old. That’s why I decided to open a 10 year old bottle of Zin to compare to some younger Zins of various ages around the same price point. The Zins also differ in style to a certain degree.

Aging Zinfandel

As with most wines, Zinfandel wines are meant to be drunk young. It’s typically a jammy, high alcoholic but spicy and peppery wine. It is medium-bodied but has a round, bigger feel because of the alcohol despite lower tannins compared to other big California reds like Cabernet. The acid can vary, and that depends on the winemaker’s harvest date. Plus, it’s an uneven ripening grape, so that’s why you can have darker, riper, jammier flavors but also red tangy flavors at the same time. 

Most people actually prefer young wines when they are at their fruitiest, and they buy Zins because they like the candied-fruit and alcohol which can get up to 17% in some.* They don’t bother to age it, and Zinfandel has a reputation as a variety that doesn’t age well, with most recommending you drink it between ages 2-5.  

However, a few Zins, particularly from some of the producers of heritage Zinfandel, have a reputation of aging potential, such as Ridge. Those tend to be higher in acid, a bit more restrained in terms of ripeness and alcohol, and more classically balanced in general compared to the more commercial, cheaper Zin. They’re also from older vines that yield higher quality, concentrated fruit. The amount and quality of oak can also vary in Zins, but the top Ridge Zin spends a year in quality American oak. 

At the same time, there are a lot of factors besides wine making since each vineyard has its own climate, terroir and field-blend composition. Producers like Ridge have single vineyard Zin blends from all over the state like Sonoma, Contra Costa County, the Sierra Foothills, Lodi, Napa and Paso Robles. Each one is different. For example, if the vineyard also has a lot of Petite Sirah in it too, perhaps that improves the ageability since Petite Sirah is a more ageworthy, tannic variety. 

In addition, aging Zin is relative to one’s own personal palate. Are you looking for fruit or tertiary flavors? Can Zin last long enough to develop tertiary flavors without losing the fruit flavors you love about Zin? We’ll find out.

I’m opening a 10 year old Ridge Lytton Springs, which is one of their flagship Zins, made from old-vines. Bedrock is similar to Ridge in style, so I’m opening one that’s also from a heritage vineyard in Sonoma but 5 years younger. In addition, I’m trying a Turley from Contra Costa County that’s a few years younger. Turley typically makes big, alcoholic wines that somehow manage to stay smooth and not over the top. Finally, I’m comparing them to a 5 year old Rombauer, who makes a popular, modern style of Zin. I drank them with some 4th of July BBQ. 

*As a side note, there is a movement to make lighter, lower alcohol Zin. Here’s a good article about it. 

Tasting Notes

2018 Rombauer Zinfandel California   

93% Zin, 7% Petite Sirah from vineyards sourced throughout the state (El Dorado, Amador, Lake, Napa and Lodi County). I couldn’t find the info for this vintage, but in other vintages, they’ve picked it at 26.5-27.5 Brix sugar level. 15.9% alcohol. Cold-soaked for extraction before fermentation. Typically spends over a year in American (10% new) and French oak.  

Just another level of ripeness compared to the other Zins and more obvious oak influence. The texture is creamier with more vanilla and nutmeg flavors. Crowd-pleasing style but lacks acidity and distinction beyond the creaminess and oak spice. Round. No hard edges. It’s easy to like, but not sure if it has the same aging potential as the others because of less tannic and acidic structure. At the same time, at close to 5 years in age, it doesn’t taste tired at this point. I’m just not sure if it will improve at all. 90

2016 Turley Contra Costa Duarte Zinfandel 

Fruit from Evangehlo, Mori and Salvador vineyards, planted between 1890 and 1930. 15.5% alcohol. Soft and easy.  Ripe dark and red fruit on the nose. Quite an easy drinking Zin. Round and smooth palate. Turley says it’s the sandy soils and age of the vines which make this Zin so soft and silky.  A touch of spice. Still some tannins to resolve. Verging on heat from the alcohol but kept under control. A lot less oak influence and more acidity than the Rombauer but still not the same intensity or complexity as other Turley I’ve had, but I like the elegance texturely compared to most Turley and other bigger Zins. Maybe that’s the age and/or terroir with old vines. At the same time, it feels like it could still open up more. 90+

2013 Ridge Lytton Springs Sonoma

74% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane, 2% Mataro; 100+ year old vines. Native yeast fermentation. The Petite Sirah was whole berry fermented while the others were full crushed. 14 months in 100% American Oak (20% new, 60% 1-3 year use, and 20% 4 year old). Hand-harvested. Destemmed. Minimum sulfur used. Brix 24.7 (a lot lower sugar than the Rombauer). 14.3% alcohol vs. nearly 16% for the Rombauer. 

This was kept in a wine fridge since purchased on release. Started off oaky and without much fruit. I thought perhaps that this had already faded past its prime. The nose was ok and spicy but the palate lacked fruit and was dominated by oak. With swirling and time in the glass, eventually it reminded me of typical old red Bordeaux style wines but 15-20 years old, not 10, with tobacco and dried fruit notes. There’s dark fruit. A bit of tannins still. Medium-low acid at this point although I know younger Ridge Zin from Lytton Springs and Geyserville are much brighter and acidic. A couple hours later on my second glass, this wine entered a super silky smooth and integrated stage with a balance of dark fruit and savory notes. Overall, it’s not that far off from a 15-20 year Bordeaux blend or 10-12 year old Southern Rhone at this stage. I would say it started at 88 but got to 92 by the end when everything came together and texture was gorgeous. But the fruit never really sang to me like a younger Ridge or Turley. It’s more plummy as opposed to bramble berry fruit. 

2018 Bedrock Wine Company “Old Hill Ranch” Heritage Sonoma 

Vineyard planted in the 1880’s. Zinfandel with a significant percentage of Grenache in the blend along with 30+ other varieties. Other varieties found in this vineyard: Mataro (Mourvedre), Grand Noir, Tannat, Lenoir, Trousseau, Charbono, Mollard, Etraire de la Dui and Persan. Planted on mostly St. George (Negrette) and some Lenoir rootstock.  Only 300 cases made. 14.5% alcohol.

Of course this started off much brighter than the Ridge at this age but still just medium acid. All about ripe, bramble and cherry fruit on the nose and palate with a bit of cherry cola and licorice and a touch of savory, herbal notes. It was much easier to like at first compared to the 10 year old Ridge. There’s some astringency and warmth but it softens. Yet, it stayed mostly primary throughout the meal. 92

Conclusion

This comparison shows the diversity and versatility of Zinfandel. None of these were super jammy and peppery like your typical supermarket Zin for less than $15. Two were at less than 15% alcohol which is rather low for Zin these days. You should expect more finesse given these were all $30-50 Zins on release. and none of them were in decline at 5-10 years of age.  

However, the Rombauer’s finesse comes through oak and glycerin. There’s not a lot of acidic or tannic structure to assure longer term aging and it’s meant to be the most approachable on release of these wines. Having had younger Rombauer Zin, its modern style was basically the same as it is at 5 years of age now. It hasn’t declined, but it doesn’t seem to be evolving. 

The others have more pedigree in terms of old vines and diversity within the blend. Having had these producers at younger ages, they typically show more acidic and tannic structure for aging while the Bedrock and Ridge show lower alcohol depending on the vineyard. At 5 years of age, that structure already seems to soften up while keeping its fruity nature. At 10 years of age, at least based on this Ridge, it starts to leave its awkward stage and eventually acts like 15-20 year old mid-level Bordeaux with silky textures, dried fruit and tobacco notes. There is some evolution. If you like that in your wine, then you could perhaps wait another 2-5 years to drink this 2013 Ridge. 

Bottomline, it ultimately depends on your palate. Are you looking for the electric, big fruity side of Zin or do you prefer a more subdued, nuanced, silky version? It’s the question one faces for all ageable wines. After having done this experiment, I can say that these old-vine heritage Zins from top producers like Ridge have ageability even though most Zins you find are not meant to be aged. Maybe it’s more along the lines of an excellent Grenache based Rhone wine like Chateauneuf du Pape as opposed to Bordeaux or Barolo in terms of the aging time frame, but it’s clear that top Zins can evolve. 

Personally though, I think I like my Chateauneuf du Pape and Zin younger than older because I don’t quite get the same depth and complexity at their older stages as with Bordeaux, and I appreciate Zin and Chateauneuf wines more for their big fruit and spicy notes while young. 

I will be traveling in France for the next few weeks, so I’m taking a break from blogging. You can still follow us on Instagram to see what we’re drinking. Expect future posts on French wines when we get back.